JP2008022943A - Air bag apparatus for human body - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air bag apparatus for a human body surely detecting falling in many directions and reducing malfunctions to actions other than falling. <P>SOLUTION: The air bag apparatus for the human body is provided with an acceleration sensor for detecting the acceleration in three axial directions of the human body A and an angular velocity sensor for detecting the angular velocity around three axes of the human body A, and respective air bags 1 and 2 are expanded in the case that an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is lower than a prescribed acceleration and the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity sensor is higher than a prescribed angular velocity. Thus, falling in many directions is surely detected, the malfunctions to the actions other than falling are reduced, and an aged person and a sick person, etc., are effectively protected from unexpected falling accident. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device for a human body mainly for protecting an elderly person, a sick person, a disabled person, and the like from an impact at the time of falling.

  In daily life or during work, for example, a person may fall over while walking or fall due to sudden illness. In such a case, the person is often injured by an impact during the fall. In particular, since elderly people have low physical ability, they easily fall over even with slight steps or light collisions. If they fall over, there is a risk of damaging the waist, thighs, head, and the like. For example, in the case of a hemorrhoid patient, if a seizure occurs, the patient may lose consciousness and fall, and there is a risk of hitting the head or the like at that time.

In order to protect the human body from such a fall accident, it is known that the airbag is inflated when the inclination of the human body is detected, and the impact at the time of the fall is absorbed by the airbag. For example, it is possible to detect that the human body has started to fall based on the relative speed and distance between the human body and the object, or the human body has to fall based on a change in the distribution state of the load applied to the sole side of the human body. There has been proposed one that detects the start (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP 2000-31002 A JP 2003-236002 A

  However, in the case where the inclination is detected based on the relative speed and distance between the human body and the object, the detectable direction is limited to the position of the sensor, so that it is possible to reliably detect a fall in multiple directions. It was difficult. In addition, in the case of detecting inclination based on the load applied to the back side of the human foot, the load on the back side of the foot changes even when jumping or running. It was easy to cause malfunction.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the object of the present invention is to reliably detect a multi-directional fall and to reduce malfunctions other than the fall. The object is to provide an airbag device for a human body.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an airbag provided so as to correspond to a predetermined part of the human body, and an inflating means for inflating the airbag. When the inclination of the human body is detected, the inflating means In the airbag apparatus for a human body that is inflated, an acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in at least three axes, an angular velocity sensor that detects angular velocities around at least three axes, and an acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor from a predetermined acceleration And control means for inflating the airbag when the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity sensor is larger than a predetermined angular velocity.

  As a result, the human body becomes equivalent to a free fall due to a fall, etc., the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is reduced to a predetermined acceleration, and an angular velocity is generated in either direction during the fall, and the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity sensor When the angular velocity exceeds a predetermined angular velocity, the airbag is inflated, so that it is possible to reliably detect a fall in multiple directions, and to reduce malfunctions other than the fall.

  According to the airbag device for a human body of the present invention, it is possible to reliably detect a fall in multiple directions and to reduce malfunctions due to an operation other than a fall. Effective protection from accidents.

  1 to 9 show an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a front view of a human body airbag device, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, FIG. 3 is a rear view thereof, and FIG. Block diagram, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the direction of acceleration and angular velocity, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control unit, FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the operation during a fall, and FIG. 8 is an example of wearing an airbag device for a human body FIG. 9 is a rear view thereof.

  The airbag device for a human body according to the present embodiment includes a first airbag 1 that can be inflated so as to cover the head of the human body, a second airbag 2 that can be inflated so as to cover the buttocks of the human body, The first wearing body 3 provided with the airbag 1, the second wearing body 4 provided with the second airbag 2, and the inflation for inflating the first and second airbags 1 and 2, respectively. First and second inflators 5 and 6 as means, an acceleration sensor 7 for detecting acceleration, an angular velocity sensor 8 for detecting angular velocity, and the inflators 5 and 6 based on detection signals of the sensors 7 and 8. It is comprised from the control part 9 to act | operate.

  The first and second airbags 1, 2 are made of highly airtight and durable fabric (for example, wholly aromatic polyester), and are formed into a bag shape by sewing or heat-sealing such fabric. ing. The first airbag 1 includes a pair of front and rear airbag portions 1a covering the front side and the back side of the head of the human body A, and a communication portion 1b that communicates each airbag portion 1a. Each is formed in a circular shape. The communication portion 1b is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the front-rear direction, and is connected to each airbag portion 1a so as to be located on one side of the head of the human body A. An opening 1c is provided at the center of the airbag portion 1a on the front side. The second airbag 2 is formed such that the lower end side bends forward with respect to the upper end side, and the buttocks of the human body A are positioned between the upper end side and the lower end side.

  The first wearing body 3 is formed in a vest-type garment that can be worn on the upper body of the human body A, and the first airbag portion 1 is housed in a contracted state on the upper back side. Further, a pocket-shaped storage portion 3 a for storing the first inflator 5 is provided on the back surface of the first wearing body 3.

  The second wearable body 4 is formed in a waist bag shape including a belt 4a that can be attached to and detached from the torso of the human body A, and a storage body 4b that is provided on the belt 4a so as to be positioned on the back side of the human body A. The storage body 4b stores the second airbag portion 2 in a contracted state.

  The first and second inflators 5 and 6 have a known configuration in which, for example, a cylinder filled with a compressed fluid is opened by an explosion of explosive, and the explosive is ignited by electricity of a battery (not shown). The 1st inflator 5 is accommodated in the accommodating part 3a of the 1st wearing body 3, and is connected to the 1st airbag 1 via the air tube 5a. The second inflator 6 is accommodated in the second wearing body 3 and connected to the second airbag 2.

  The acceleration sensor 7 is composed of, for example, a well-known triaxial acceleration sensor, and detects accelerations of the human body A in the front-rear direction (X-axis), the left-right direction (Y-axis), and the up-down direction (Z-axis).

  The angular velocity sensor 8 is composed of, for example, a well-known triaxial angular velocity sensor, and detects angular velocities around the human body A in the front-rear direction (X-axis), the left-right direction (Y-axis), and the vertical direction (Z-axis). ing.

  The control unit 9 is constituted by a microcomputer and is connected to the first and second inflators 5 and 6, the acceleration sensor 7 and the angular velocity sensor 8. Electrical components such as a circuit board and a battery constituting the control unit 9 and the sensors 7 and 8 are accommodated in the control unit 9a, and the control unit 9a is accommodated in the second wearing body 4. The control unit 9a is connected to the first inflator 5 through a power supply lead wire 9b.

  When using the airbag apparatus for human bodies comprised as mentioned above, as shown in FIG.8 and FIG.9, the 1st wear body 3 is worn on the upper half of the human body A, and the 2nd wear body 4 is used. It is worn on the torso of human body A. Next, when the user falls, the first and second inflators 5 and 6 are operated, and the first and second airbags 1 and 2 are inflated instantaneously. Accordingly, the front side and the back side of the head of the human body A are covered with the first airbag 1, and the buttocks of the human body A are covered with the second airbag 2. At that time, as shown in FIG. 7 (a), the impact on the buttocks of the human body A is absorbed by the second airbag 2, and as shown in FIG. 7 (b), the impact on the head of the human body A is first. Are absorbed by the airbag 1.

  Next, the operation of the control unit 9 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. That is, when a main switch (not shown) is turned on (S1), the counter value N is set to an initial value “0” (S2), and accelerations Gx, Gy, Gz are detected by the acceleration sensor 7 (S3). Angular velocities Ωx, Ωy, Ωz are detected by the angular velocity sensor 8 (S4). At this time, the absolute value | Gxyz | of any of the accelerations Gx, Gy, Gz is smaller than the predetermined reference value G1 (S5), and the absolute value | Ωxyz | of any one of the angular velocities Ωx, Ωy, Ωz is predetermined. If it is larger than the reference value Ω1 (S6), “1” is added to the counter value N (S7), and if the counter value N is smaller than a predetermined number N1 (for example, “4”) (S8), Steps S3 to S6 are repeated, and before the counter value N reaches the predetermined value N1, the acceleration | Gxyz | becomes greater than the reference value G1 (S5), or the angular velocity | Ωxyz | is less than the reference value Ω1. If this is the case (S6), the process returns to step S2 to set the counter value N to the initial value “0” (S2). If the counter value N reaches the predetermined number N1 (S8), the inflators 5 and 6 are activated to inflate the airbags (S9).

  The acceleration reference value G1 is set to a value equal to or lower than the gravitational acceleration. When the human body A is in a state equivalent to free fall due to a fall or the like, the absolute value | Gxyz | of the detected value becomes smaller than the reference value G1. If it is determined that the vehicle has fallen only by this, the acceleration may become smaller than the reference value G1 due to an operation other than the fall, such as when jumping or jumping over a slight step. Therefore, since an angular velocity is generated in any direction at the time of the fall, malfunction is reduced by determining that the vehicle has fallen only when the acceleration is smaller than the reference value G1 and the angular velocity is larger than the reference value Ω1. Even in such a case, since the above-mentioned condition may be met instantaneously due to a sudden motion or action, an error may be caused by determining that the person has fallen only when the fall judging operation has continued for a predetermined number of times N1 or more. Less action.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the acceleration sensor 7 that detects the acceleration of the human body A in the three-axis directions and the angular velocity sensor 8 that detects the angular velocity around the three axes of the human body A are provided. Since the airbags 1 and 2 are inflated when the measured acceleration is smaller than the predetermined acceleration and the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity sensor 8 is larger than the predetermined angular velocity, the bicycle falls over in multiple directions. Can be reliably detected, and malfunctions with respect to operations other than falls can be reduced, and elderly persons and sick persons can be effectively protected from accidental falls.

  In addition, since the first airbag 1 covering the head of the human body A is provided, it is possible to absorb the impact on the head at the time of the fall, and of course, for example, when the head falls down, It is also effective when some patients lose consciousness due to a seizure and fall. In this case, since the first airbag 1 is provided in the first wearable body 3 that can be worn on the upper body of the human body A, the first wearable body 3 can be easily worn like clothes. Since the first wearable body 3 is formed in a vest-type garment shape, it can be worn without impairing the appearance.

  Furthermore, since the second airbag 2 that covers the buttocks of the human body A is provided, it is possible to absorb the impact on the buttocks at the time of the fall, and is effective, for example, when the fall is caused to have a buttocks. In this case, since the second airbag 2 is provided on the second wearable body 4 that can be worn on the trunk of the human body A, the second wearable body 4 can be easily attached like a belt, and Since the 2nd wearable body 4 is formed in the waist bag shape, it can wear without impairing appearance.

  In the above-described embodiment, a triaxial acceleration sensor is used as the acceleration sensor 7 and a triaxial angular velocity sensor is used as the angular velocity sensor 8, but a plurality of single axis sensors are combined or a triaxial sensor is used. A plurality of sensors may be provided to form a multi-axis sensor.

The front view of the airbag apparatus for human bodies which shows one Embodiment of this invention Side view of air bag device for human body Rear view of airbag device for human body Block diagram showing the control system Schematic showing the direction of acceleration and angular velocity Flow chart showing operation of control unit Schematic showing the action when falling Front view showing an example of wearing an airbag device for a human body Rear view showing an example of wearing an airbag device for a human body

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... 1st airbag, 2 ... 2nd airbag, 3 ... 1st wearing body, 4 ... 2nd wearing body, 5 ... 1st inflator, 6 ... 1st inflator, 7 ... Acceleration sensor, 8: Angular velocity sensor, 9: Control unit.

Claims (3)

In a human body airbag apparatus comprising an airbag provided so as to correspond to a predetermined part of a human body and an inflating means for inflating the airbag, and detecting the inclination of the human body, the inflating means inflates the airbag. ,
An acceleration sensor that detects acceleration in at least three axial directions;
An angular velocity sensor for detecting angular velocities around at least three axes;
And a control means for inflating the airbag when the acceleration detected by the acceleration sensor is smaller than the predetermined acceleration and the angular velocity detected by the angular velocity sensor is larger than the predetermined angular velocity. Bag device. The airbag device for a human body according to claim 1, further comprising: an air bag that covers the head of the human body and that can be worn on an upper body of the human body. The airbag device for a human body according to claim 1, wherein an airbag that covers the buttocks of the human body is provided, and a wearable body that can be worn on a torso of the human body is provided.

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